Celebrate Mother’s Day on Saturday at Sharon with $5 admission for all moms; Full program plus RUSH Late Models

By Mike Leone

May 7, 2015

(Hartford, OH)…After a successful 2015 opener last Saturday night, Sharon Speedway looks to roll into week number two of the 86th anniversary season on Saturday night with a full program of “Steel Valley Thunder” action featuring the first appearance by the RUSH Late Models along with the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds, Summit Racing Equipment Modifieds, Weller Hughes Contracting & Developing RUSH Sportsman Modifieds, Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, HTMA/Precise Racing Products Econo Mods, and the Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks. Group qualifying begins at 7 p.m.

With Mother’s Day on Sunday, Sharon will honor all mothers with just a $ 5 general admission ticket on Saturday night. That’s 50% off the 2015 reduced general admission price of $ 10! This week’s kitchen special is hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes. Beer and 50/50 raffle proceeds will benefit the Northeast Ohio Adoption Services.

Saturday’s event is being presented by Joedance Film Festival, which is a non-profit dedicated to raising funds and awareness for pediatric cancers, specifically sarcomas, blastomas, and brain tumors for research and clinical trials. All money raised will be donated directed to Joedance Film Festival. Saturday will include drivers’ foot race, Chinese auction, donation collection, and a gold ribbon and bracelet sale.

The RUSH Late Models will make their first of several appearances scheduled throughout the 2015 season. Saturday’s race is part of the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Weekly Series. Sharon’s payoff from past seasons will be used; however, if 24 or more cars are present the feature will pay $ 1,000 to-win! With the new surface, Sharon has eliminated the mandatory Hoosier Crate Racin’ 55 right rear rule tire. Will Thomas III has been the champion two of the last three years and has scored 13 career wins; Josh Double was the inaugural champion in 2011, while Dennis Lunger, Jr. captured the championship in 2013. All three racers are expected to be on hand.

The DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds had the highest car count last Saturday night with 22 cars in the pits. Defending track and Lou Blaney Memorial “Drive to be a Champion” titlist, Rex King, Jr. wasted little time showing he’s going to be force to repeat with his opening night win. Brian Swartzlander and Dave Murdick looked to be contenders until dropping from the event late with overheating problems. The return of Kevin Bolland is expected in the coming weeks.

Not many times does a newcomer to a division win a feature out the box, but Will Thomas did it last Saturday night in the Modifieds and pocketed the $ 700 increased payout. Modifieds are reminded that, 24 cars or more will result in $ 1,000 to-win and an increased payoff! Thomas is expected to do double duty Saturday racing his RUSH Late Model that he finished second with last Friday night at Lernerville Speedway. It was a rough night for defending track champion, Steve Dixon, who crashed in qualifying ending his night. Past champions Mike Kinney and Joel Watson were right there in second and third.

It was good to see a record 15 RUSH Sportsman Modifieds on hand for their first race as being a weekly division. The class attracted between 10 and 13 on a limited schedule in their inaugural 2014 season. Several other new racers are expected in the coming weeks like 14-year-old Jeremy Weaver, Justin Shea, Joe Plesniak, Jim Bryce, Jerry Schaffer, last year’s inaugural winner Jordan Eck, Josh Chaney, and more. It was a familiar face in victory lane though as Greg Martin won his fifth career race at the track. Martin, who travels three and a half hours to race, has yet to finish worse than second in his nine starts at the speedway.

The Econo Mod division was very competitive in 2014 and with standouts Jeremy Double and Brandon Blackshear the latest to move up to the Modifieds, look for more new winners in 2015. Butch Lambert started the trend off winning last Saturday’s feature for his first career Sharon win. Lambert has been a veteran racer in the Stock Cars, Modifieds, and RUSH Late Models over the years, but had never been able to win at the Hartford, Ohio oval.

The Mini Stocks brought out a solid field of 17 cars for their opener missing their car count bonus payoff by one car. It’s always good to see Pete Blazczak make the hour and a half tow up from Gibsonia, Pa., and it proved successful as he captured the victory. Blazczak stated in victory lane he expects to be a weekly competitor at Sharon in 2015. He was able to beat two-time champion and the division’s all-time winner, Bill Fuchs. Look for some new Mini Stock winners as well with 16-time 2013-2014 winner, Travis Creech, moving up to the Stock Cars.

Hovis Auto & Truck Supply will again award six complimentary pit passes for the following week; a pair going to the hard luck driver in DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds, a pair to a lucky driver in the division that competes first, and a pair to a lucky fan. Summit Racing Equipment will award $ 25 gift cards to the hard charger in the Modified, Stock Car, Econo Mod, and Mini Stock divisions.

Pits open at 4 p.m. with grandstands at 5, and group qualifying slated for 7. Admission for those 14 and over is $ 10. Pit passes are $ 30. As always, children under 13, parking, and camping is always FREE! Sharon has a no carry-in cooler policy.

Sharon Speedway is owned by the Blaney, Weller, and Kirila Families and is a 3/8-mile dirt track located on Custer-Orangeville Road in Hartford, Ohio near the intersection of Routes 7 & 305. For more information, check out the website at www.sharonspeedway.com or call 330-772-5481. Become a fan of Sharon Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharonspeedway and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sharonspdwy.